From 29.10. until 31.10.2019 the European Patent Information Conference took place in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. The conference, hosted by the EPO, is the annual get-together of the Patent Information Community.
Guest of Honor was the director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Andrei Iancu . Director Iancu highlighted the importance of the very concept of intellectual property and its protection for the scientific and economic progress of humanity.
Also present was the President of the EPO António Campinos , who addressed the challenges of the European Patent Office and its wide range of services.
The main theme this year was the impact and benefits of artificial intelligence in patent research and classification. According to EPO’s annual reports n 2018, more than 170,000 patent applications – this is more more than 3000 per week – were filed with the EPO. The rate of increase from 2017 to 2018 was 4.6%. For each of these applications, a stringent process is performed, which includes the technical classification and a search in the context of the novelty check. The ability to identify “prior art” is of paramount importance, as novelty is the essential feature of a patent. Thus, it seems inevitable that this process has to be supported by intelligent algorithms to cope with the volume of new applications while guaranteeing high quality.
A large number of exhibitors presented products that help companies and patent attorneys with their research work.
The EPO Patent Information Conference 2020 will take place from 3 to 5 November 2020 in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
For more information and selected presentations, see the Conference website of the EPO and the related news release.
MZ Patent participated in the conference and thanked the person responsible for the very successful event.
Jürgen Brust